GIPA Act 2009

More about right to information

What is the GIPA Act 2009?

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act 2009) replaces the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (FOI Act). Like the FOI Act before it, the GIPA Act 2009 gives you and other members of the public a legally enforceable right to access government information except when, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to provide that information.

How does the GIPA Act 2009 help me?

The GIPA Act 2009 helps you and other members of the public by making government information more accessible. It does this by:

Requiring government agencies to make certain types of information openly available

Encouraging government agencies to proactively release as much other information as possible

Providing the public with the enforceable rights to make both an informal and formal request for government information

Restricting access to information only when there is an overriding public interest against disclosure

What are the main differences between the GIPA Act 2009 and the FOI Act 1989?

The GIPA Act 2009 reflects a shift in thinking about the way government agencies provide information to the public. The fundamental principle of the GIPA Act 2009 is that access to information should be provided unless, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to provide that information. The GIPA Act 2009 not only applies to information that has always been in the public domain (such as annual reports) but to information produced at every operational level within a government agency (such as reports and policies).

Furthermore, where the FOI Act 1989 focused on documents, the GIPA Act 2009 uses a broad definition of information and as a result applies to information that is compiled, recorded, or stored electronically as well as in hard-copy form.